Commendation: Policies, Programs and Concepts – Large Scale

Jury citation:

The Smart Seeds program equips young professionals with the skills necessary to question and drive the advancement of complex problems emerging out of contemporary urban design issues in Australia.

Challenges are set by industry leaders and, in response, teams of young professionals from different organizations develop creative concepts over a ten-week period. At a showcase event they then pitch their ideas to an esteemed jury that includes members from various government and corporate organizations.

The program proposes an innovative cross-disciplinary way to consider urban problems. In 2017, it expanded into eight showcase events held around Australia, representing the culmination of an outstanding learning experience through focused work for more than two hundred young professionals. The jury applauds this innovative cross-disciplinary approach to research and problem-solving in urban design, which is, in itself, inherently cross-disciplinary.